The Malaysian Trade Delegation in China.
Billed as a premium electric car manufacturer, Zeekr is now confirmed to be entering Malaysia as Proton tries to catch up in the Electric Vehicle segment of the market. It may be a bit early to be calling Zeekr, a sub-brand of Geely, a premium brand. After all, they were only founded in 2021, but the brand will be officially launched sometime in the last quarter of the year with the introduction of their Smart 001.
The Smart 001 will be launched by Proton’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Proton New Energy Technology (Pro-Net). Of course, Proton themselves are 49.9% owned by Geely and 50.1% owned by DRB. The Smart 001 is described as a Sports Utility designed by Geely and Mercedes Benz, even though it has more than a passing resemblance to the other EV SUV manufactured over at another Geely subsidiary, Link&Co.
The announcement came after a fairly high-profile trip to China by the Malaysian Minister of International Trade and Industry (MITI), Datuk Seri Tengku Aziz, who was seen testing a number of EVs, including the Zeekr 001. The Minister was primarily trying to attract investment into the Automotive High Tech Valley (AHTV) at Tanjong Malim, a small town one-hour drive north of Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. Well, at least when there is no traffic.
Proton may be guilty of following the herd a little with a head-long rush into EV and Hybrid cars, but Internal Combustion Engines will be their mainstay for the foreseeable future largely due to the lack of charging infrastructure in Malaysia. Despite the challenges in their home market, Proton and the Malaysian Government are determined that the country will become a regional hub for NxGV as EVs are now being called here.
